SynthesisBJS open2022
Fertility treatment and breast-cancer incidence: meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BJS open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Breast cancer incidence after hormonal treatment for infertility: A meta-analysis of population-based studies.Saudi medical journal · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Association between fertility treatments and breast cancer risk in women with a family history or BRCA mutations: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Pooled it
- Review
- Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) and breast cancer risk: hormonal treatments under the spotlight.Breast cancer research and treatment · 2026Review
- Medically Assisted Reproduction and Hormone-Related Cancers.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- PCOS and breast cancer risk: hormonal modulation and epidemiological trends.Reproductive health · 2026Review
- Risk of breast cancer in assisted reproduction technology: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.International journal of surgery protocols · 2025Article
- Treatment of infertility and risk of breast cancer among women with a BRCA pathogenic variant: a matched case-control study.BMC cancer · 2025Article
- Provincial Variation in Adherence to Breast Cancer Screening in Canada: Evidence From the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow's Health.Cancer medicine · 2025Article
- Estrogens and breast cancer.Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology · 2025Review
- Conception and Concern: A Review of Breast Cancer Risk in Assisted Reproductive Technology.International journal of biological sciences · 2025Review
- A roadmap to reduce the incidence and mortality of breast cancer by rethinking our approach to women's health.Breast cancer research and treatment · 2025Review
- Estimating the impact of bias in causal epidemiological studies: the case of health outcomes following assisted reproduction.Human reproduction (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
- In vitro fertilization impact on the risk of breast cancer.Archive of clinical cases · 2024Review
- BRCA, infertility, and fertility preservation: a review for counseling.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2023Review
- Best papers of 2022-Editor-in-Chief's picks.BJS open · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe significance of exogenous hormone manipulation as part of fertility treatment and its relationship to the development of breast cancer remains uncertain. Several historical reviews have been performed with conflicting results. This study is an updated meta-analysis to determine whether there is a causal relationship between different fertility treatments and breast cancer.
methodsThe study report is based on the guidelines of PRISMA and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology. Studies published within the last 20 years were included to reflect up to date in vitro fertilization (IVF) practice. This study was prospectively registered on PROSPERO on 07/04/2021, registration identification CRD42021247706. The primary outcome of the study was to determine whether there is an increased incidence of breast cancer in women treated with hormonal fertility treatment. The secondary outcomes were to determine whether fertility treatments were individually associated with excess breast-cancer risk.
resultsOverall, 25 studies, including 617 479 participants, were eligible for inclusion. There was no significant breast-cancer risk association with fertility treatment (compared with general and subfertility reference groups). Summary odds ratio of all included studies was 0.97 (95 per cent c.i. 0.90 to 1.04). Women who received six or more IVF cycles did not have an increased risk of breast cancer. Similarly, there was no excess breast-cancer risk associated with clomiphene, human chorionic gonadotropin, gonadotropin analogues and progesterone when examined individually. Comparably, there was no significant association between fertility treatment and excess breast-cancer risk in patients with more than 10 years' follow-up. Summary odds ratio was 0.97 (95 per cent c.i. 0.85 to 1.12).
conclusionThis meta-analysis did not find a significant association between fertility treatments and excess breast-cancer risk. Women considering IVF should be informed that it does not appear to increase breast-cancer risk.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.